Judex is visual poetry, an extravagant display of powerful black-and-white images. Georges Franju made the beautiful Eyes Without A Face to bring respectability to the horror genre, and in Judex he returns to the trashy world of pulps and serials to craft a thriller unlike any I've ever seen.
Judex is the story of a caped crusader who warns Favraux, a corrupt banker, to return all the money he has stolen until midnight or else die. The banker pays no heed and falls dead during a masked ball exactly at midnight, surrounded by people. His innocent daughter, Jacqueline, discovers his criminal deeds and gives away her fortune for some peace of mind. But Favraux's mistress decides the daughter holds some papers that are worth a fortune and goes after them. It's up to the mysterious Judex to protect the helpless Jacqueline and restore order.
The story itself is unremarkable, but it's Franju's visual style and the harking back to a world full of cliffhangers, melodramatic discoveries (in the course of a fight, a man discovers his would-be killer is his missing son), unexpected twists, dashing escapes, men standing stoically in black capes, genuinely-bad villains and square-jawed heroes, amazing fights in rooftops, masters of disguise, and other clichés that made the pulps so fascinating almost a century ago, that make this fast-paced movie memorable.
Many scenes stand out: the classic scene in which Judex, masked as a pigeon, entertains guests at a masked ball with his magical feats, just before Favraxu falls dead; the rooftop fight between Francine Bergé (in a sensual black skintight costume) and Sylva Koscina (playing an aerialist); any scene in which Judex just stands up in his black cape, more threatening and imposing than Christian Bale will ever be in his heavy, ugly, impracticable Batman suit.
Franju explores the black-and-white camera to the limit, constantly contrasting light and shadows, light colors with jet black, much like he did in Eyes Without A Face. He also never forgets the world this movie came from, making references to Fantomas (a famous French pulp and a serial by Louis Feuillade), and to Max Ernst's Loplop figure (the surrealists loved pulps and serials).
The cast is quite good; I had no idea who Channing Pollock and was amazed at his magical feats, producing birds out of thin air. Although an amateur actor, he commanded a presence that him perfect as the heroic Judex. Francine Bergé was another revelation, and her role is perhaps one of the best villainesses in movie history, a ruthless, determined woman who uses sensuality, charm, wits and violence to reach her goals.
Although the feel of the movie is nostalgia, Franju's remake of Feuillade's celebrated serials is not condescending. If anything, it shows how fascinating these old stories were and how much modern movies owe them. Judex is a fast-paced entertaining history lesson.
Judex is the story of a caped crusader who warns Favraux, a corrupt banker, to return all the money he has stolen until midnight or else die. The banker pays no heed and falls dead during a masked ball exactly at midnight, surrounded by people. His innocent daughter, Jacqueline, discovers his criminal deeds and gives away her fortune for some peace of mind. But Favraux's mistress decides the daughter holds some papers that are worth a fortune and goes after them. It's up to the mysterious Judex to protect the helpless Jacqueline and restore order.
The story itself is unremarkable, but it's Franju's visual style and the harking back to a world full of cliffhangers, melodramatic discoveries (in the course of a fight, a man discovers his would-be killer is his missing son), unexpected twists, dashing escapes, men standing stoically in black capes, genuinely-bad villains and square-jawed heroes, amazing fights in rooftops, masters of disguise, and other clichés that made the pulps so fascinating almost a century ago, that make this fast-paced movie memorable.
Many scenes stand out: the classic scene in which Judex, masked as a pigeon, entertains guests at a masked ball with his magical feats, just before Favraxu falls dead; the rooftop fight between Francine Bergé (in a sensual black skintight costume) and Sylva Koscina (playing an aerialist); any scene in which Judex just stands up in his black cape, more threatening and imposing than Christian Bale will ever be in his heavy, ugly, impracticable Batman suit.
Franju explores the black-and-white camera to the limit, constantly contrasting light and shadows, light colors with jet black, much like he did in Eyes Without A Face. He also never forgets the world this movie came from, making references to Fantomas (a famous French pulp and a serial by Louis Feuillade), and to Max Ernst's Loplop figure (the surrealists loved pulps and serials).
The cast is quite good; I had no idea who Channing Pollock and was amazed at his magical feats, producing birds out of thin air. Although an amateur actor, he commanded a presence that him perfect as the heroic Judex. Francine Bergé was another revelation, and her role is perhaps one of the best villainesses in movie history, a ruthless, determined woman who uses sensuality, charm, wits and violence to reach her goals.
Although the feel of the movie is nostalgia, Franju's remake of Feuillade's celebrated serials is not condescending. If anything, it shows how fascinating these old stories were and how much modern movies owe them. Judex is a fast-paced entertaining history lesson.